The Mediterranean and the challenge of desertification
The Mediterranean and the Challenge of Desertification: Towards Common Policies to Save Soil and Communities
From Sicily to North Africa, a network of experiences is growing, aiming to change the agricultural model. The AEMED Network, with its first Mediterranean Agroecology Congress (AEMED 2025), is relaunching the idea of a common strategy to save soils, communities, and the future.
The Mediterranean is slowly drying out. This isn’t just a slogan, but an increasingly evident reality: less rainfall (or less beneficial and often dangerous storms), higher temperatures, and soils losing fertility. A silent but profound process, with a precise name: desertification.
And it doesn’t just affect the areas on the edge of the Sahara. Today, the phenomenon also affects vast swathes of southern Europe, from Spain to Greece, all the way to southern Italy. Sicily, in particular, is considered one of the most exposed areas.
But reducing everything to a climate issue would be a mistake. Desertification is also the result of human choices: intensive agricultural models, excessive water consumption, and unsustainable land management. In other words, it is a crisis that arises from the relationship between society and the environment.
A crisis that changes people’s lives
When soil degrades, the consequences spread rapidly. Harvests decline, agricultural incomes decline, rural communities weaken. In many cases, people are forced to leave their lands.
This is how desertification also becomes a social problem: it fuels migration, increases inequality, and can even generate tensions over access to increasingly scarce resources, such as water.
It is no coincidence that international organizations such as the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development consider land degradation one of the main global challenges. The European Union, too, with the European Green Deal, has placed the need to transform the agricultural system at the center.
Yet, a truly coordinated response is still lacking in the Mediterranean.
A change of direction from Sicily
But something is moving. In Sicily, one of the most vulnerable regions, a law was passed in 2021 that focuses on the agroecological transition (Regional Law 21 of July 29, 2021). This term may seem technical, but it encompasses a simple idea: returning to an agriculture that respects natural cycles.
Fewer pesticides, more biodiversity, more careful use of water, and the valorization of local production. It’s not just about protecting the environment, but about making rural communities stronger and more resilient.
Similar experiences are emerging elsewhere. Regenerative agriculture practices are spreading in Andalusia, while in North Africa, several FAO-supported projects are experimenting with sustainable models in arid environments. Different signals, but pointing in the same direction.
Agrigento 2025: When the Mediterranean Meets
A key moment in this journey was the AEMED 2025 Congress, held in Agrigento. For four days, farmers, researchers, institutions, and activists from over twenty countries discussed a common theme: how to halt desertification and build sustainable agricultural systems.
It wasn’t just a scientific event. Above all, it was a meeting point for diverse experiences, a concrete attempt to build a common language.
At the heart of the debate was a shared belief: agroecology is not a niche, but the only possible systemic response to the Mediterranean crisis.
The AEMED network: a bridge between territories and policies
The AEMED network, recognized by the FAO as a Mediterranean platform for agroecology, emerged strengthened from the conference. Its ambitious goal is to connect territories, knowledge, and policies.
In a historically fragmented area, AEMED seeks to build bridges: between those who work the land and those who conduct research, between local communities and institutions, and between the experiences of the Northern and Southern Mediterranean.
Its value lies precisely in this capacity to connect. A practice developed in Sicily can be adapted to Tunisia; A project born in Morocco can offer useful insights in Greece. This is how local solutions can become shared policies.
A challenge that concerns everyone
Desertification is not just an environmental problem. It is a question that concerns the future of the Mediterranean as a whole. Continuing on the current path means accepting the progressive impoverishment of territories and communities.
But there is an alternative. Current experiences demonstrate that it is possible to change course, building a more balanced development model.
The challenge now is to go a step further: to transform these initiatives into a true Mediterranean strategy, capable of uniting policies, territories, and people.
Because the fate of the Mediterranean is not just being played out in arid fields or climate statistics. It is being played out in the choices made today.
Conclusion
Desertification threatens the Mediterranean, its soils, and rural communities. The Mediterranean Agroecology Network (AEMED) shows the way: by uniting territories, knowledge, and sustainable practices, it transforms local initiatives into shared solutions. The proposal is to strengthen AEMED as a permanent Mediterranean platform, supporting it with targeted resources and policies to promote agroecology, protect soils, and ensure community resilience. Only in this way can the Mediterranean address the climate crisis and build a sustainable and shared future.
Guido Bissanti
Agroecology Coordination Sicily
Valentina Palmeri
Mediterranean Agroecology Network (AEMED)